Ice Cold Hearts
by LoveUForEternity
Summary: It has been a year since he returned to Konoha. Everything is as it used to be. Everything but one, Sakura Haruno. She changed. Her eyes that used to sparkle with love now seemed cold and emotionless. Her smiles are never genuine anymore. They're all fake. It seemed like all the love she had for him vanished and replaced by hatred. What will he do to get her love back?
1. Difference

ICE COLD HEARTS

It has been a year since he forgave Konoha for killing the ones he loves and came back home. He came back for the ones who love him. They were still waiting for him with forgiveness even after all those despicable things he did to them. Even though he was dragged by Naruto, he did it willingly. He could have just left or beat the crap out of Naruto and fled, but he didn't. He stayed and accepted all the punishment for his treacherous acts. He was very grateful that Tsunade was kind enough to consider the fact that he killed three of Konoha's biggest threats and saved him from a death sentence. He was under house arrest for three months and he was forbidden to go on any mission for six whole months. It was a pain in the ass and the boredom could even make one go insane, but he got through it with the help of his loud mouthed _best friend._ He hates to admit it, but being in Konoha with his friends, makes his cold heart feel a little warmer. But there was one thing that bothered him, _Sakura. _It wasn't because she was acting like an annoying fan girl like she used to, but the fact that she avoided him and always tried to make up an excuse whenever Naruto ask her to join us hang out like they used to when they were still genins. He told Naruto about it, but the blonde said it was only his imagination and negative thinking that made him feel that way. He knew Naruto noticed Sakura's cold behavior too, but decided to not push the matter even further. He didn't want it to seem like he cared about what she thought of him, even if he does. The fact that they only spoke to each other only twice since his return didn't help at all. The first time they talked was when they were on a S-ranked mission as Team Seven. And it wasn't because she wanted to, but because she had to. The first time she talked to him shocked him like electricity. Even though she was just asking for a strategy, it warmed his heart. He noticed every little thing about her, her hair was longer, her body gained a few curves that made her even more beautiful than she used to and he even noticed the lack of love and excitement in her green eyes. She was nothing like she used to be when they were younger. Her smile never seemed genuine anymore and she only gave out a chuckle even when Naruto made a complete fool out of himself when he was around.

He thought to himself, "_**So this is how she felt when I ignored her years ago, painful.**_" It was even more painful to see her smile and laugh at other guys' stupid jokes when she didn't even spare a glance at him.

He was sitting under a tree in his backyard, reminiscing about how the past. How she used to call him Sasuke-kun with her sweet and melodic voice. How she used to cry and overreact when something happened to him. He used to think that those sweet gestures were annoying, but now he missed it and he would trade anything for it. She poured her heart out and even confessed to him the night he was leaving Konoha, but he didn't care. Now that he was back and ready to love her back, she acted like he didn't matter and like he was never important to her. The irony, it hurts. He didn't know when he started to fall for her, but he can honestly say that she got him wrapped around her little finger. Maybe he was already in love with her since they were still genins, but he was blinded by the ugly hatred to see the beauty of love, the beauty of her. "_**God, why was I so stupid?**_".

His train of thoughts was interrupted when an ANBU 'poof'ed in front of him. "_**Sasuke-san, Hokage-sama has asked for you. She expects to see you in her office immediately."**_ The man disappeared after Sasuke gave him a slight nod. Sasuke sighed, "_**What could it be this time?**_". He performed a hand seal and appeared in front of the Hokage's office. He knocked on the door and waited for her permission to enter.

"_**Come in, Uchiha.**_". He walked inside and he was surprised to see Sakura standing infront of Tsunade's desk. "_**You asked for me, Hokage-sama?**_" he said monotonously, hiding his nervousness upon seeing Sakura's angelic face.

"_**Yes, I need you to go on a retrieval mission with Sakura. You are needed to retrieve a scroll that was stolen by a rouge ninja. This might be a S-ranked mission, but I believe the two of you will be sufficient to complete this mission as the enemy was reported injured and has no team or gang to back him up. I expect this mission to be completed in a day, but I'll give you a week before this mission expired and you are considered as rouge ninjas. I already gave a briefing of this mission and the details to Sakura, you may ask her on the way there. You are both dismissed.**_" With a polite bow, they both exited the office.

He thanked God for giving him this chance to be alone with her. He hoped they could talk things out, and maybe they can even go back to being _friends _again. That word pained him but he would be very grateful to just go back to how they were used to. Though, this time, he promised that he would treat her better and appreciate her more.


	2. Sorry

According to Tsunade, the rouge ninja was last seen two days ago in the forest 56 km from Konoha. As expected, they manage to complete the mission in just a day. The ninja was found in a cave nearby the place when he was last seen. He was unable to travel due to a serious leg injury. He did put quite a fight, but it was useless.

When they finally completed the mission, it was already night time and their chakra was running low. Actually, it would be fine if they continue their journey back to Konoha, but Sasuke suggested that they should rest first. He was hoping that they could talk things out before they go back to Konoha. He was unsurprised when Sakura didn't object even though the idea was ridiculous because he knew she agreed because she didn't want to speak to him.

He lit a fire using a little katon. He sat near the fire while thinking of the right words to say to her.

"_**Sakura, we need to talk.**_"He said monotonously, trying to hide his nervousness.

"_**Lets do it some other day because I'm really tired .**_" she crept into her sleeping back and turned the other way, ignoring him completely.

"_**Bullshit. You and I both know that you're not tired, you're just trying to avoid me. You've been doing that for a whole fucking year Sakura, so just cut the crap because I noticed.**_" He was slightly shocked at how much her cold behavior affected him. He was actually planning to be gentle and understanding through out the conversation, but seeing her ignore him, it hurts so much that he forgot every words he was planning to say.

"_**What the hell is your problem?**_" Sakura turned to him. Her face was red from anger and frustration. "_**Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me like that?**_" He saw the flash of hurt in her eyes and he felt guilty for yelling.

"_**Sakura, listen I ..**_" his voice softened.

"_**No, you listen!**_" she was in front of him now, her hands grab his shirt. "_**You are nothing to me. I don't care how you feel. You are just a teammate, nothing more. Not even a friend. So stop complaining about how I treat you because you don't mean a thing to me. Stop wasting your breath.**_" She walked away and went back into the sleeping bag.

"_**But I thought you cared about me. Before I left you said you love me. Now I'm nothing to you? You changed, Sakura.**_" He was looking at anything besides Sakura.

"_**Tch. How pathetic. I can see that I'm not the only one who changed here. You've become more pathetic, worthless and annoying since you left.**_" She said coldly, not caring how her words cut him deeply. She knew the she doesn't really hate him, but she just can't forgive him. She wanted him to know how it felt like being called worthless and annoying by someone you really cared about.

He didn't say anything so she decided to continue wounding his heart with her harsh words. "_**Yes, I did care. But I stopped when you tried to kill me for the second fucking time. It wasn't love that I felt. It's just a mere crush and maybe even pity. Do you honestly think that if you come back to Konoha, everything will go back to how it used to be and everyone will forgive you? You're a very conceited guy, aren't you Uchiha?**_"

"_**I'm sorry I called you annoying and ignored you when we were twelve. I'm sorry I walked out on you that night. I'm sorry for trying to kill you twice. I don't know what I was thinking. Most importantly, I'm sorry for thinking that you would accept me again after all those horrible thing I've done to you.**_" He stood up walked away. "_**You can sleep first. I'll take first watch.**_"

'_**Did he just apologized to me?**_' she thought to herself. She was feeling really guilty. She didn't expect him to apologize. Heck, she even thought that he would be raged and would kill her after what she said.

She couldn't sleep that night and tears were threatening to fall when she thought about those mean things she said. But she wouldn't cry, not for him, not again.

They went back to Konoha at dawn and arrived at noon. The journey was full of tension. Neither of them made an attempt to start a conversation.

Sasuke sighed when he let his body fall onto his bed. He wished he didn't try to talk to her last night and maybe he wouldn't have to feel this heartache. Everything was getting worse. They drifted further apart after that 'talk' last night.

"_**Sakura, I'm sorry you hate me.**_" His left hand was gripping his chest. It was hard for him to breathe when her words were stabbing his heart.

'_**Maybe I should leave? She would be happier if I'm not around and she wouldn't have to go through all those trouble to avoid me anymore.**_' He wanted her to be happy but at the same time, his heart ached when he thought about not being able to see her beautiful face ever again.

'_**What should I do?**_' He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep with a heavy heart.

* * *

A/N: Hey you guys, thanks for the reviews! Sorry about my grammar mistakes bcoz english is not my first language. the chapters are short coz I ran out of idea. Hehe.. sorry bout that. anyways, i hope you guys enjoy reading this story as much as i enjoy writing it.


	3. Decisions and Jealousy?

It had been a week since _that _night. Sasuke couldn't get her of his mind. Her words stung him every time he remembered their little talk. He was having trouble sleeping these past few days. He didn't sleep for three days now and the fatigue was getting to him. He even started having illusions of the pink-haired kunoichi. He tried everything to help him fall asleep. He even tried the ridiculous 'sheep counting'. Still, he failed miserably. He lied in his bed with his eyes shut. Sasuke took a deep breath and tried to relax his mind. It seemed effective as he slowly drifted to sleep. To his dismay, his long-awaited rest was interrupted by a certain loud mouth banging on his front door.

"_**Oi, Teme! Are you there? Open the the door, you lazy ass!**_" the blonde continued assaulting the poor door.

Sasuke grunted. He got up with his teeth gritted with annoyance. '_**He better have a good reason for disturbing me. That dobe is going to get it if he came here just to drag me to Ichiraku's.**_' he thought to himself before opening the door with force, hinting the blonde that he wasn't in the mood.

"_**What the hell do you want, dobe?**_" he asked through his gritted teeth. His temper was rising and he was having a hard time restraining himself from beating the crap out of Naruto.

Naruto gulped when he sensed the dangerous aura around Sasuke. His fear turned into concern when he took a good look at his best friend. His face was paler than usual, his eyes were puffy and red. It wasn't because of sharingan, it was because of the blood shots. Sasuke looked really tired.

"_**Well, are you going to just stand here all day and stare at my face like an idiot? You better have a good reason dobe, because I'm going to kick your sorry ass if you don't.**_" Sasuke was clenching his fist now, his patience was running out by the second.

"_**Um, ehehe. I was just wondering if you want to hang out with me and the team.**_" Naruto scratched his head.

"_**No.**_" Sasuke slammed the door shut before Naruto could even complain.

"_**Aww, come on Teme! Don't be so anti-social, you asshole!**_" He heard Naruto yell from outside. He knew the blonde wouldn't give up so easily, but he figured that Naruto would leave sooner or later. He walked away from the front door and made his way to his room.

"_**Even Sakura-chan is going. I mean, she is always busy but she still made time for us.**_" That definitely caught his attention, '_**Sakura is going?**_' his heart jumped when he thought of her. He missed her. Not seeing that beautiful face of hers was a torture even after she clearly showed how much she hated him. He sighed and went to open the door again.

"_**When and where?**_" He asked the gaping blonde.

"_**You're going? What made you change your mind so quickly?**_" he quirked an eyebrow at Sasuke. Then, a big grin split across his face. "_**I know, it's because of Sakura-chan isn't it?**_"

"_**Hn.**_" Sasuke looked away, hiding the blush that was creeping to his face.

Naruto burst out laughing at the sight of his usually brooding best friend blushing. "_**Man, you got it bad, huh? One minute you were ' I'm not going ' , and then when I mentioned Sakura-chan, you were so eager to go.**_" He was laughing so hard that tears began to fall.

"_**Shut up, Dobe.**_"

"_**Why don't you just tell Sakura-chan how you feel about her? I mean, when I told Hinata, she she said yes immediately and fainted. I'm sure if you tell Sakura-chan, she'll be very happy.**_" He nudge Sasuke while giving him a knowing smile.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at this, '_**If only it was that simple.**_' he thought to himself. He sighed and said "_**Lucky for you, Hinata already liked you from the very beginning. Even though I don't know how it's possible for a girl like her to like you, still she likes you and of course she'd say yes when you asked her out.**_"

"_**So? Sakura-chan liked you since we were still genins. What's the difference?**_" The blonde asked, confused by his best friends statement.

"_**That was then. Now, she hates my guts.**_" Sasuke clenched his fists from frustration.

"_**That's not true. It's impossible for her to hate you. Since you left, she hoped for nothing but for you to come back home.**_" Naruto patted Sasuke's back, trying to encourage the raven haired shinobi.

"_**I don't know if it's because of your positive thinking or your stupidity that made you so blind to see hatred. She avoided me with every chance she got. She never speak to me unless she had to during missions. What do you call that? Love?**_" Sasuke can feel his temper rising again. Every time he remembered their talk during the mission, his heart ached. It made him feel like killing someone for no apparent reason.

"_**That, umm.. I don't know. Maybe she needs time Sasuke. She was hurt when you left. Maybe she was just angry.**_"

"_**Time? I came back a year ago, Naruto. One fucking year isn't enough?**_" he was now half yelling. When he realized that people were staring, he lowered his voice. "_**Just face it, Naruto. She hates me and things will never be the same again no matter how hard you try.**_"

"_**That's not true, Teme. Everything will work out some day. Everyone once told me I could never bring you back no matter how hard I try, now look who's here standing next to me. We'll figure this out, believe it!**_" Naruto gave him a thumbs up while grinning widely.

Sasuke smirked at his enthusiastic best friend. "_**Hn. What ever, Dobe.**_"

"_**So, you're coming right?**_"

Sasuke just nodded. "_**You haven't answered my question, Dobe.**_"

He sighed when Naruto gave him a puzzled look, obviously forgotten about the question.

"_**When and where?**_" he repeated.

"_**Oh, that question. It's at twelve. We decided to go some where else besides Ichiraku's because Sakura-chan said she won't come if it's at Ichiraku's. Kakashi-sensei suggested the new BBQ place just across the market.**_"

"_**Hn. I'll be there." **_Sasuke said before slamming the door in Naruto face again.

"_**How dare you slam the door in the next Hokage's face, Teme!**_" he heard Naruto yell from outside.

Sasuke let his body fall onto the soft bed. He was trying to get some sleep but he failed. His mind was too crowded by the thoughts of Sakura.

'_**I should leave. If I keep this up, I'll go insane. At least if I'm far away from her I wouldn't think too much about her, I hope.**_' He rubbed his temples with his slim fingers to ease the pain in his head.

'_**But, what about Dobe? He was so happy when I agreed to come back with him. If I left he'll be devastated.**_' Sasuke got up and took a map inside his drawer.

'_**Hmm, Suna is only three days away from Konoha. If Dobe wants to come and visit, it wouldn't be too much trouble for him, right? Besides, I can still help to protect Konoha even though I'm far away because Konoha and Suna are allies.**_' He nodded at his decision.

'_**I'll talk to Tsunade after the gathering.**_' He sighed. '_**Looks like this is going to be the last time I get to hang out with them.**_**'**

* * *

Sasuke entered the BBQ place and his ears was immediately assaulted by Naruto's loud voice. He was yelling "_**Oi Teme, here! I saved you a seat!**_" the only seat available was next to Sakura. Sasuke glared at the blonde for forcing him to sit next to Sakura. Naruto gave him a knowing smile and wiggled his eyebrows.

"_**Now that everyone is here, lets order shall we?**_" Kakashi finally stopped reading his perverted book and looked up.

"_**Order as much as you want, my treat.**_" The silver haired man picked up the menu.

"_**No, I'll pay for it. I haven't treated you guys since I came back. So might as well do it now.**_" Sasuke said without looking at the others. He pretended to focus on the menu when he felt her gaze on him.

"_**Very well, then.**_" Kakashi nodded before going back to the menu.

"_**I don't care who's treat it is. As long as it's free**_." Naruto grinned cheekily.

Everyone at the table sweat dropped at the comment. They talked while waiting for the food.

"_**So Sasuke, how was your mission with Sakura last week?**_" Kakashi asked while he buried his face into the orange book again.

Sasuke felt Sakura tensed beside him. "_**Nothing much. The mission went smoothly and we didn't get badly injured. The target was already injured when we found him, so he couldn't defend himself properly.**_"

"_**So nothing happened between you and Sakura-chan? I mean, you guys were alone that day.**_" Naruto gave them a perverted smile.

That earned him a smack on the head courtesy of Sakura's right hand. "_**Shut up, you perverted idiot!**_"

"_**Ouch, that hurts. Sakura-chan, you're scarier than Baa-chan when you're angry.**_" He said while pouting like a child.

"_**You deserved it, dick-less.**_" Said the pale and emotionless former ROOT member.

"_**What did you call me? Why you little!**_" Naruto got up to grab Sai by the collar but was stopped by a fuming Sakura.

"_**Naruto, you better sit down and shut up before I punch you into oblivion!**_" her right hand was clenched into a fist, threatening to send the blonde flying across the village.

Naruto gulped. "_**Ye-yes, Sakura-chan.**_"

After ten minutes of waiting, the food finally arrived at their table. Everything was going smoothly and everyone had a good time untill a girl showed up at their table and began to flirt with Sasuke shamelessly.

"_**Hey there, handsome. You're Sasuke Uchiha right?**_" she said wih a seductive voice.

"_**Hn.**_" He wasn't even looking at the girl.

"_**You're so cool. My name is Hana. Mind if I join you?**_"

Sasuke was tempted to call her annoying and insult her in any way he could, but decided against it because he wanted to show Sakura that he changed and he knows how to treat a woman better.

"_**Hmm, I'd love that but as you can see, there's no seat left.**_" He gave her a small insincere smile.

"_**Aww, you look so hot when you smile. Anyways, I could just sit on your lap if you let me.**_" She was now caressing his face.

'_**What the hell is wrong with this slut? Can't she see that there are other people here too? And what's with Sasuke? Usually he would insult girls like her by now.'**_ Sakura thought to herself. She didn't realize that she was staring at the two until it was too late. Sasuke caught her staring at them with anger in her eyes. She quickly looked away, pretending to talk to Naruto.

"_**I'm afraid that wouldn't be appropriate.**_" Sasuke said through his gritted teeth but still smiling at the time. The slut was busy flirting that she couldn't see the murderous aura around Sasuke.

"_**Who cares what those people think? Please?**_" She pouted.

Sasuke could feel his temper rising and his patience slowly evaporating. He was restraining himself from giving the girl third degree burns using his katon.

He took out a large amount of money from his wallet and gave it to Hana. "_**Here, go buy yourself something pretty. A girl like you deserve something as beautiful as you.**_" He wanted to barf at his own statement, but he hold it in.

"_**Thank you, Sasuke-kun. You're so sweet. After I'm done shopping, I'll give you a private fashion show.**_" She kissed his cheek before walking away.

Sasuke sighed in relief. He could feel the headache coming back. When he thought it was over, Naruto chirped in "_**Wow, Teme. I never thought you had it in you. I thought for sure you were going to kill her the minute she started flirting. You even got a private fashion show later. Mind if I join?**_" he gave Sasuke a disturbing smile.

"_**Shut up, Dobe.**_"

Meanwhile, Sakura was having a battle with inner Sakura.

'_**I'm glad she's gone. I'm not sure how much I could take anymore.**_'

'_What's wrong, Sakura? You're not jealous of the slut, are you?' _Said inner Sakura.

'_**No way in hell. Why would I be jealous? Just because Sasuke decided to flirt back, doesn't mean that I would be jealous. Who cares about Sasuke anyways? I don't like him anymore remember?'**_

'_Yeah, keep telling yourself that and you'll get somewhere.'_

'_**What was that supposed to mean? I don't like him anymore!**__'_

'_Maybe, but you still love him.'_

'_**No, I don't!'**_ Sakura retorted.

'_What ever, Sakura.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Naruto yelled in her right ear "_**Sakura-chan, are you alright?**_"

"_**Huh? What? Oh, I was just thinking. Don't worry about me. Lets go back to eating, alright?**_"

"_**If you say so Sakura-chan.**_" Naruto went back to eating.

"_**I've got to go. I'll pay on my way out.**_" Sasuke stood up and walked towards the counter.

"_**Where are you going, Teme? Can't wait for Hana's private show for you?**_" Naruto gave him a teasing smile.

"_**I have something to discuss with Tsunade-sama.**_"

"_**What would that be?**_"

"_**None of your business, Dobe.**_" He walked away before Naruto could even say anything.

* * *

Sasuke knocked on the Hokage's office door and waited for her permission for him to enter.

"_**Come in.**_" he heard Tsunade's short answer from the other side of the door.

He entered the office and bowed politely at the blonde woman.

"_**How may I help you, Uchiha?**_"

"_**I'm here to ask for your permission to transfer to Suna.**_"

"_**May I ask for a reason? Is Konoha not up to your standards?**_" Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"_**It has nothing to do with me wanting to transfer to Suna. I decided to transfer because of Sakura.**_" He said calmly.

"_**What does my pupil have to do with this issue, exactly?**_"

"_**She hates me and she had been avoiding me since I came back.**_"

"_**So you decided to transfer to Suna because you are sulking with Sakura?**_" She almost burst out laughing but she managed to hold it in and keep a straight face.

"_**No. I'm doing this for her sake. I could see the discomfort she was in whenever I'm around. I could also save her from all the trouble she went through just to avoid me. You wouldn't want Konoha's best medic distracted from her job would you, Hokage–sama?**_"

Tsunade thought for a second and said, "_**Very well, then. I shall give you a letter of permission so you wouldn't be considered as a rouge ninja.**_"

"_**I would really appreciate it if you could recommend me to Kazekage-sama so that verything could go smoothly when I arrive at Suna.**_"

"_**Sure, but it'll take some time to deal with. At least a month. So in the mean time, you're still under Konoha's orders and I expect you to be on your best behavior so that the Kazekage would be pleased to have you under his wings, understood?**_" Tsunade said firmly.

"_**Yes, Tsunade-sama. Thank you for your help. I'll be waiting for the answer.**_"

"_**If there's nothing more you want to add, you may go now. I've got to get started on the paper works for your transfer to Suna."**_ Tsunade said while rubbing her temples.

Sasuke bowed and left. Tsunade sighed. "_**Congratulations, Sakura. You just contributed a pile of paper works for me to do.**_" She drank a whole bottle of sake before getting to work.

* * *

A/N: Hey you guys! It's me again~ I made this chapter longer because I don't think I can update a new chapter next week. School and stuff. don't worry tho.. I'll update as soon as I can. maybe on the weekends. Hope you enjoy this extra long chapter! Bye~ keep reviewing!


	4. I'll Never Let You Go!

"_**Wake up, you idiot! Don't you dare to think for even a second that I would let you leave me again." **_Her voice was cracking and tears refuse to stop falling down. Sakura kept pumping up chakra into his lifeless body, desperately trying to make his heart start beating again. She wiped away the tears that were blocking her sights, blurring her of his image. Chakra depletion was making her feel light headed but she didn't stop trying, one hand healing his fatal wound, the other pumping chakra into his body and to his heart.

"_**Sakura-chan, there's no use. Sasuke's gone. You wasting your chakra wouldn't bring him back.**_" The usually cheeky blonde put a hand on her shoulder, trying to assure her that everything's going to be alright. His face was grim and every living soul witnessing this knew that he was trying his best to not let his tears fall.

"_**No! I will never give up!**_" She didn't even spare him a glance, not wanting to look away from her fallen teammate's body.

"_**Sakura, Naruto is right. You need to stop before you deplete all of your chakra. It'll be dangerous for you especially in this kind of situation. We don't even know if all the enemies are dead or not. There might be another ambush.**_" Kakashi gave her a pained look. He knew how much his pupil is hurting right now, but he can't afford to lose even one more of his family.

Yet, she didn't stop. She never stopped until she couldn't handle the exhaustion anymore and collapsed on top of Sasuke's body. The last thing she heard before fainting was Naruto calling her name desperately.

She woke up in a hospital bed. She abruptly sat up a second after she gained consciousness. Tears started streamed down her cheeks. "_**Sasuke-kun.**_" Only god knows how much she missed calling him that. All these time, she was trying so hard to keep herself from calling his name with the suffix '–kun' because she wanted to show him that she moved on and she's not the same girl that used to cling to him annoyingly anymore. Now she wished for nothing but for him to be right there in front of her, calling her annoying while she clung to his arm like a love sick fool. She wouldn't even mind if he thought that she's annoying and useless as long as he is alive. She'd give anything so that she could say how sorry she is for being such a jerk to him even after having him apologize to her sincerely.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh before she lay back onto the soft bed. She shut her eyes tightly that they started to hurt. She didn't want to cry anymore, but she failed to block her tears from falling. She knew that she was doing something disgraceful by crying her eyes out over a dead comrade. She is the strongest kunoichi in Konoha for goodness' sake, but she endangered herself by doing something careless and disobeying her team captain's order just because she couldn't accept the fact that _he _was gone. The raven haired shinobi has sacrificed his precious life just to save her useless one. His last words to her made it even harder for her to stop thinking about him.

* * *

-Three days ago-

Everything was just as usual. They were at the usual training ground, training like they usually do. Just like usual until an ANBU operative appeared in front of Kakashi in a puff of smoke. "_**Hatake-san, the Hokage requested for you and your team's immediate presence.**_"

"_**Understood.**_" The silver haired shinobi gave a slight nod before dismissing the said ANBU.

"_**Alright, that's enough for today. Tsunade-sama wants to see us in her office immediately.**_" He said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"_**Aww, man! What does Baa-chan wants now. I was just about to kick Teme's butt.**_" Naruto wailed like a child and stomped his feet on the ground, sulking childishly.

"_**Hn. You wish, Dobe.**_" Sasuke sheathed his kusanagi back into its hilt.

"_**What was that supposed to mean? I can beat you whenever I want, Teme!**_" by the time he finished his sentence, all of them already left, leaving him to sulk alone.

Naruto burst through the door, panting heavily. "_**I'm he-,**_" gasp "_**here.**_"

Every heads in the office turned their heads towards the loud mouthed blonde.

"_**So nice of you to finally join us, Naruto.**_" Tsunade said sarcastically.

"_**Give it a rest would you, Baa-chan? It's not my fault my teammates decided to act like bitches and left without me.**_" He pouted in protest.

The blonde woman balled her fist, restraining herself from strangling the disrespectful idiot in front of her. "_**You're lucky that I don't have the time and energy to kill you right now.**_" She rubbed her temples, easing the pain in her throbbing head.

"_**Excuse me, Shishou. Can we get back to the mission, please?**_" Sakura glared at Naruto, warning him not to say another word.

"_**Yes, about that. I got a message from a jounin guarding Konoha's border this morning. He said that two of the shinobis on duty last night was found dead early this morning. He believed that enemies had trespassed. However, we are not sure whether this is true or not and their numbers are still unknown. I need you guys to go and check out the situation. If I don't hear any news from you in a week, backups will be sent out. Is this clear?**_" Tsunade asked with a serious tone. Her forehead was creased with worry.

"_**Yes.**_" They said in unison. They were all serious. Even Naruto didn't say anything stupid for once.

"_**Good. I expected nothing less. You are all dismissed.**_"

They were about to leave when Tsunade spoke, _**"And oh, Uchiha. I spoke to the Kazekage and he said he would be glad to have you in Suna. You are to leave for Suna next week so this will be your last mission under Konoha's order. You better not screw up.**_"

"_**Hn.**_" Sasuke clenched his fists tightly. '_**Why did she have to say that in front of them? The dobe would never leave me alone during the mission. He'll probably make me explain myself for a thousand times before he gets it. Joy!**_'

"_**What?! Teme's transferring to Suna?!**_" he said in an ear deafening yell.

"_**Shut up, dobe.**_"

"_**Not until you tell me the reason you're leaving.**_" The blonde continued to yell in Sasuke's ears.

"_**I swear, I'll sew your mouth shut if you yell one more fucking time you idiot.**_ _**Besides, why would I explain anything to you? My transfer to Suna doesn't concern you in any way**_." Sasuke continued to walk away from the team.

"_**Are you fucking kidding me?! After all these years all of us tried so hard to drag your ass back home and you dare say that you don't have to explain anything to us? You bastard!**_" Naruto grab him by the collar and was ready to knock some sense back into his best friend when Sakura suddenly interrupted him.

"_**Stop it, Naruto. He's not worth wasting time over. We've got a mission right now and I think it's better spend our time to save someone that actually worth something.**_" She said in cold emotionless voice as usual when she's around him.

Naruto let go of Sasuke's collar before walking away, muttering incoherent words under his breath with Sakura and Sai in tow. Sasuke watched them leave. He let out a heavy sigh. '_**I knew dobe would overreact when he found out. This mission is going to be hell.**_' His train of thoughts was interrupted when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder.

"_**I really hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Sasuke.**_" He said before walking away with the rest of them.

* * *

The whole journey had been really quiet. No one even tried to start to a conversation. The air around them was thick with tension. Even the usually cheeky blonde didn't open his mouth. Sasuke didn't mind it at all actually, he was rather content to have a long period of silence but what really bothered him was the way the chatterbox would glare at him while cursing under his breath when he thought that Sasuke wasn't paying attention. At first the raven haired Uchiha didn't give any thoughts to the blonde's behavior, but he thought that it was getting annoying when the blonde started to curse him openly. Sasuke heard Naruto called him various things using his colorful vocabulary. _Shit, jerk, asshole _and every curse words you could think of was thrown at him by the frustrated blonde shinobi.

They were only 17 kilometers from Konoha's border when a kunai came flying out of nowhere, aiming for Kakashi's head. He easily dodge the flying metal and it flew straight into a tree bark.

"**_This is bad. I can sense many chakra signatures coming from all direction. At least 50 of_ them. We're out numbered.**" Sakura looked at her sensei, asking for a plan.

"_**Since they're coming from all direction, there's no way we can get out of this without a scratch. best just prepare ourselves fo****r battle.**_" the silver haired jounin shifted his hitai-ate, revealing his sharingan.

All of them got into a fighting stance, preparing for a battle that seemed impossible to be won.

"**_It doesn't matter how many of them coming, we can kick their sorry asses. Believe_ it!**"

"_**Well aren't you a confident little** __**boy.**_" A man with a scar on his left cheek appeared from their left.

"**_Little boy?! How dare you call me a little boy, you fucking_ bastard!**" Naruto made a hand sign and yelled "_**Kage bunshin no jutsu!**_" and hundreds of Naruto appeared. "**_Not so tough and manly are you __now ?_" **All the Narutos said at the same time.

The ninja suddenly burst out laughing. "_**Did you actually think that ****I would be intimidated by a bunch of weak shadow clones.? Pathetic little mutt."**_ He snapped his fingers and all of the enemies hiding came out with a smug look on their ugly faces, probably thinking that they would win this battle by a land slide. Just like Sakura predicted, there were 50 of them.

"**_Kill them_** _**all.**_" The man from before said with a confident smirk on his face. He must be their leader.

The fight went on for almost 5 hours and Team 7's chakra were running low. well, except for Naruto's of course. Sasuke and Kakashi managed to kill all of their opponents with the help of their sharingan. While Naruto and Sai both have one opponent left. Sakura how ever, had five left. It's not because she was weak, but they seemed to target her more because she's a girl and they thought they could easily take her down. Nevertheless, she managed to kill them all. When she was down with only two of them left, her chakra was running dangerously low. Sasuke went looking for Sakura in the direction she went when they dispersed 5 hours ago. He was glad when he saw her. She was alright and she only suffered minor injuries. Sakura was slitting her opponent's throat with a pair of chakra scalpels when Sasuke found her. His eyes went wide when he saw an enemy charging at her with a sword. She was unaware of the brunette's presence because she had her back turned towards him and she was too tired to even move let alone track the enemy's whereabouts. Sasuke acted on instinct and he found himself taking the blow for her. The blade of the sword pierced his chest and the pain was unbearable. Sakura quickly turned her back when she heard the sickening sound of blood splattering from someone's body. She was beyond shocked when she saw Sasuke standing right in front of her with a sword in his chest and blood trickling down to his chin from his mouth. The enemy pulled out the sword mercilessly and he laughed maniacally when he saw Sasuke on his knees, clutching his chest. Kakashi, who just arrived at the scene took the opportunity and slit the brunette's throat with a kunai while he was distracted. He died immediately.

"_**Sasuke!** _" Sakura went to him.

"_**Sa- Sakura.** _" He said between gasps. "_**Are you alright?**_" He asked her, genuinely concerned of her well being.

"**_Why the hell are you asking me whether I'm alright or not? You're the one who's bleeding your life out here. I should be asking that! Not you!_ **" She pulled him into her embrace, letting him lean to her for support. She brought her hands towards his chest and started healing him with the chakra she had left.

"**_Sakura, stop healing me. It-it's too l-late. We both know how this is going to end Sakura, so st-stop. You'll just bring harm to yourself._ **" He grunted. The pain was getting too much for him to handle.

"**_Shut up! I'm not going to stop. No matter what you say! Is it that hard for you to accept the help from someone weak like me, you bastard?!_ **" She yelled at him angrily. The tears she had been holding in finally rolled down her cheeks. She hated herself for crying because she promised herself that she would never cry again especially because of him. Yet, she failed again. Still like she used to be when she was a genin, weak, useless and down right pathetic.

"**_Sakura-chan, are you_ _alrig-._ **" The sentence was left unfinished when he saw Sasuke's condition. "_**Te-teme, wh-at**** happened?**_ "

"_**Nothing. I ju-just got stabbed in the heart with a lo-long ass s-sword. Nothing unusual.**_" He smirked even though he knew the pain was evident on his face.

"_**This is not the time to make stupid jokes, you fucking idiot!** _" Sakura was shaking vigorously,trying to stop the tears streaming down her face. "_**It's all my fault. I'm still too fucking weak to take care of myself. Sasuke had to risk his life to protect my pathetic ass again. I'm a disgrace.**_" She shifted her position so that Sasuke's head was rested on her lap. She continued healing him with a shaking hand.

"_**D-don't blame yourself, Sakura. You're the strongest woman I ever know. Y-you took out a number of enemies all by yourself. One slip up doesn't me-mean an-anything.** _" He brought his bloody hand to her left cheek, not caring if he smeared his blood on her cheek. He just wanted to caress her face for the first and the last time.

Sakura was still healing him while crying her eyes out. "**_Sak-kura, please don't cry. I pr-promised myself I'd never make you cry ever again. Seeing you like t-this pains me more than being stabbed. I'm glad I could die protecting you, Sakura. After all the h-horrible things I've done to you, I could finally do so-something good for you._ **" His breath became shorter and quicker by the second.

"**_What are you saying Teme! You're not going to die. Yo-you're stronger than that. You've been injured a lot of times and you recovered. this one wouldn't be any different, ri-right?_**" He knew his best friend was running out of time, but he couldn't face the fact so he tried to reassure himself.

"_**Hn. You're not going to c-cry too are you D-dobe?**_" He smirked at Naruto.

"**_You wish, bastard!_**" Naruto gave his dying best friend a sad grin.

"**_Good. Kakashi-sensei?_**" Sasuke turned his head towards his sensei who was quieter than usual.

"_**Yes, Sasuke?** _" He replied softly, trying to hide his sadness from his student.

"_**Please take good care of them and get m-married would you? You're not getting**_** younger.**"

"**_Hmm, I'll see to that._ **"

"_**Sakura, take good care of yourself. I want you to be happy and to stop blaming yourself for every bad things that had happened and will happen, Sakura, it's not your fault. I missed your smile. Can you smile for me before I go?** _" Sasuke smiled back after he saw her most genuine smile. Even though she was covered with cuts and bruises,she still looked beautiful. "**_I love you, Sakura. I al-ways have a-and I always_ will.**" Slowly, he let the darkness claim him and his hand on her cheeks fall to his side.

"_**No! Sasuke! Wake up! Please.**_" She brought her other hand to his chest to pump chakra to his slowly fading heart.

* * *

-Present-

Sakura was too busy crying her eyes out for him that she didn't notice someone opening the door to her hospital room. Her back was turned towards the door.

"**_Sas-sasuke-k-kun. _** " She called out his name in between her sobs.

"**_Yes, Sakura?_ **" A familiar voice asked. She knew it was Sasuke's but she refused to turn towards its direction. She was afraid that she was hallucinating and she couldn't face the heartache she was going to go trough when she learned that he's not really there, standing behind her. She doesn't want to keep her hopes up.

"_**Sakura?**_" He called out again.

"_**No, go away! You're not real! I know you're not really there, Sasuke-kun. I'm just imagining this whole thing. I know you're not going to be there if I turn around.**_" She said while covering her ears with her hands.

"_**What are you talking about? I'm real, I'm standing right behind** _**_you._ **" She felt a hand on her shoulder. Sakura slowly turned around and to her surprise, Sasuke was really there, wearing a hospital robe, smiling at her.

"_**Sasuke-kun!** _" She pulled him into a bone crushing bear hug immediately, worried if she let go, he'll just disappeared into thin air.

"_**Sa-sakura, c-can't breathe, wo-wounds still n-not he-healed completely.**_** " **He said between gasps.

Sakura loosened the hug but not letting go completely. "_**Oh, sorry about that.** _" She blushed. "**_But h-how?_**"

"_**Lets just say that I was saved from death by a beautiful, pink haired angel.**_" He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and smirked when he saw her blushed in all shades of red. His smirk turned into a frown when he saw her starting to cry again.

"_**W-what's wrong, Sakura? Did I do something wrong?**_"

"**_No, of course not. I'm just glad you're alive. You got me worried, you idiot!_ **" She pretended to be pissed.

"_**I'm sorry. I don't know you love me that much.** _" He joked while he wiped away her tears. What he didn't expect was for her to suddenly kiss him on the lips. The kiss wasn't a passionate one but it was enough to send jolts throughout his body. He stared at her, wide-eyed after her bold move.

Sakura chuckled at his reaction towards her quick peck on his lips. She hugged him one more time before bringing her lips to his ears and whispered, "_**Yes, I do love you that much. Actually, I love you so much, it hurts.**_" She pulled out of the hug and watch him stare at her like an idiot, his face turned crimson red at her love confession.

It took a while for him to snap out of his daze. When the information finally registered in his mind, he gave her a smile that would put Naruto's smile to shame. He pulled her closer, until there was only an inch gap between their faces. "**_I love you, my cherry_**_ **blossom.**_" He whispered before sealing his love for her with a passionate kiss.


	5. Author's Note

_**Umm..hey you guys. I've been having second thoughts about ending the story so quickly. Actually I got the plot all thought up but seeing that I probably won't have enough time to write a long story due to my studies, I changed my mind and made it shorter. So I was unsatisfied with the ridiculously short plot and I read the story from the very beginning until the end and I found the story very annoying as it is too sudden. I know I can't change it now but I think if I add more conflicts to this story, it'll be more interesting and not so dull as it is now. So I need your opinion on this. Should I continue, or just leave it like that? I can't promise to update constantly though, and I can't promise that the story will be fantastic either. Please write a review or send me a message about what you think I should do. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Love, Momo~**_


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